He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: An escapee from Planet Doom comes to Planet Arus, claiming he's Lance's kid brother. FINALLY COMPLETE!
1. Lance's Nightmare

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a little warning ahead of time. You should know that I haven't seen all the episodes of Voltron just yet, and I don't know too much about the backgrounds of most of the characters. In anycase, this story contains an OC of mine, John Allen McClain, who is Lance's kid brother (I got Lance's last named from the Voltron entry on Wikipedia). If something seems "odd" to all Voltron Aficionados, then I guess we can consider this sucker an Alternate Universe story. Alsp keep in mind this is my first attempt at a Voltron fanfic.

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It was a beautiful day on a far away planet. Eight-year-old Lance McClain was climbing up a tree, and his three-year-old brother, John Allen, was watching. John Allen idolized his big brother, and wanted to do everything Lance did, which drove the older brother completely crazy at times. He liked having his little brother idolize him, but he didn't like it when John Allen tried to do everything he did.

"I wanna climb up, too!" John Allen shouted, standing at the base of the tree, leaning against it, trying to climb up.

"Forget it, Shrimp," Lance said. He often called his brother names. "You're too little!"

"Am not! I can do it!"

"If you climb up and fall, Mom'll be mad. She'll kill you. If she doesn't kill me first for letting you climb up here. She'll end up kicking both our butts if you fall!"

John Allen wasn't listening. He started to climb up after his brother. Lance sighed, and climbed down. He knew if his mother caught John Allen trying to climb the tree, she would kill him. Once Lance got down, he pulled his brother away from the tree.

"Come on, let's do something else," he said.

"Horsey?" John Allen asked, hopefully. Lance closed his eyes and groaned. He absolutely hated this game. But he knew he had to play nice with his little brother, or else his mother would end up grounding him. And that meant giving John Allen a horsey ride.

"Okay, hop on," Lance said, getting down on his hands and knees.

"Yay!" John Allen cheered, as he climbed on Lance's back. Lance stood up and groaned.

"Whoa boy, you're getting heavy," he said, as he started running around the yard. "I think you'd better go on a diet."

Lance began running around the yard, not going very fast. That didn't matter to John Allen. He just liked to play with his brother. Lance had been giving horsey rides to John Allen since he was nine months old. John Allen was getting bigger and heavier, and Lance was hoping the horsey rides would stop soon. He couldn't take it much longer.

"Giddy up horsey!" John Allen shouted. "Go horsey, go!"

"Neeeeiiiggghhh," Lance grumbled, knowing his brother got a big kick out of Lance neighing like a horse whenever he gave him a horsey ride.

"'Gain, Lance! 'Gain!" John Allen shouted, grabbing hold of Lance's hair and pulling on it.

"Ow!" Lance shouted. "Watch it up there! I'll do it again if you promise not to use my hair as the reins!"

"'Kay, Lance."

Lance groaned and began running around the yard with his little brother on his back. As he was running around, he stopped, and looked up at the sky. John Allen looked at is brother, and pouted.

"Go horsey!" he shouted, giving Lance a kick in the back. Lance got down, and managed to get his brother off his back.

"Stop that!" he shouted. "Look up there."

"Airplanes," John Allen said, looking up into the sky. There were at least twenty ships were flying in. And they didn't look at all friendly.

"I don't think those are airplanes," Lance said, taking his brother's hand. "Come on! We'd better get into the house fast!"

"More horsey?" John Allen asked.

"No more horsey," Lance said. "Come on, come on, come on!"

Suddenly, one of the planes shot laser beams out of a canon. It hit the tree Lance had been climbing earlier.

"Oooh, pretty," John Allen said.

"John Allen, come on!" Lance shouted, grabbing his brother by the arm.

The two of them dashed into the house, and stood by the window as the planes in the sky began shooting off canons, destroying the farm right and left, and the other farms on the planet. Other planes were picking up people on the run to use as slaves. The planes belonged to King Zarkon, ruler of Planet Doom. He was trying to take over the galaxy.

"Why are the airplanes breaking the farm with their pretty lights?" John Allen asked.

"Those aren't pretty lights, Twerp," Lance said, giving John Allen a gentle swat in the arm. "They're lasers, and they're destroying the farm and making everybody slaves!"

"That's not nice," John Allen said, heading for the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I tell them to stop."

"What?! John Allen, wait!"

But John Allen didn't listen. He opened the door, and walked outside into the yard. Lance didn't want to go out there, because he thought he would either get picked up as a slave, or get shot off the face of the planet. But then again, he figured his brother would get shot off the face of the planet, and then he'd be in deep trouble with his mother. He debated with himself whether or not to go out there after his little brother for at least two minutes, and then raced out of the house, but the minute he did, a large missile fired, and exploded on the farm, resulting in a giant flash if light, and explosion.

KA-BLAM!

"John Allen!" Lance shouted. "John Allen, where are you?!"

When the smoke cleared, the farm was destroyed, and there was absolutely no sign of John Allen. Lance looked around frantically, but he couldn't find his little brother anywhere.

"John Allen!" he called out. "John Allen! Where are you?! John Allen! If I don't find him, Mom's gonna kill me! John Allen! If you come out, I'll play horsey with you whenever you want!"

Lance looked all over the yard, and finally ran out of the farm house, and looked all over, but he couldn't find one single trace of his brother.

"JOHN ALLEN!" he screamed at the top of his voice. "JOOOHHHHN ALLLLEEEEEEN!"

Lance's voice seemed to echo all around him. He shot up out of bed with a start, and looked at his clock. It was only five thirty in the morning. He figured he might as well get up. Keith would be coming around any minute to wake up the rest of the Voltron Force. He got up, got dressed, and walked into the lounge. Nobody was in there. Good. He wanted to be alone to think about that dream he kept having for the past week. Every night it was the same thing. He had dreamt about Zarkon destroying his planet, but what he couldn't get out of his head was what had happened to his baby brother. He wondered if John Allen had really existed? He wanted to get it out of his head. He wanted to forget about the day Zarcon destroyed his family's farm. But what he couldn't figure out was how he could remember that day, and it was the only thing he had ever remembered about his three-year-old brother. He wondered what had happened to John Allen, but he figured that one of Zarkon's lasers had blown him to kingdom come. It was strange, how he never had that dream before. He just sat there wondering what it could mean.


	2. John Allen

As Lance was sitting there thinking, he heard Hunk and Pidge coming down the hallway, talking about breakfast.

"I wonder what's going to be on the menu today?" Hunk asked.

"I just hope it's edible," Pidge said. "You know how Nanny's cooking is."

"Just don't let her hear you say that," Hunk replied. When they passed the lounge, they noticed Lance was sitting there, not really doing anything.

"Hey, Lance, what are you doing here this early?" Hunk asked.

"Eh, couldn't sleep," Lance said, shrugging. "I figured I'd get up, since Keith would probably be calling the wake up call any minute."

"Well, we'd better go get some breakfast," Pidge said.

"Yeah, and hopefully, we'll get some food before Zarcon sends an attack on us," Hunk said.

"Is food all you can ever think about?" Pidge asked.

Hunk and Pidge then began arguing then. Lance tuned them out, and followed them to the dining room. Keith and Princess Allura were already there, waiting for Lance, Hunk, and Pidge.

"Mornin' all," Hunk said. "What's to eat?"

"I told you all you ever thought about was food," Pidge said. Hunk decided to ignore that remark, and sat down at the table. the others followed.

Lance let the conversation fade into the background. He was just leaning on the table, poking at his food, thinking over the dream he kept having. He wasn't paying too much attention to what was going on around him, until Nanny came by and gave him a whack upside the head.

"Sit up straight and get your elbows off the table!" she shouted.

Lance glared at her, but straightened his posture and got his elbows off the table anyway.

"You're awfully quiet this morning, Lance," Allura said. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not really," Lance said. "I'm probably just not getting enough sleep, that's all."

"Well, you've been kind of out of it all week," Keith remarked. "You know we need to be alert at all times in case Zarcon and Haggar try to attack Arus."

"Yeah, I know, I know," Lance said. "I'm fine, guys. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Before anything else could happen, the Space Mice ran into the room, and climbed up to the table. One climbed onto Allura's shoulder and began squeaking in her ear. Allura gasped and stood up.

"What's wrong, Princess?" Keith asked.

"They said they saw one of Zarcon's ships approaching," Allura said.

"Just one?" Hunk asked. "That's a little strange for Zarcon, isn't it?"

"I don't think we ought to take a chance," Lance said. "We'd better go check out what this is."

"To the lions!" Keith shouted.

The Voltron Force then raced to the elevators and to their lions. Once they activated their lions, they went to investigate Zarcon's ship coming in. Once they got the lions outside, they spotted the ship, but it wasn't flying straight. As a matter of fact, it looked like an engine was failing.

"I've never seen one of Zarcon's ships do that before!" Hunk shouted.

"Looks like someone attempted to shoot it down," Lance said.

Suddenly, the plane started to go down, pretty rapidly. The Voltron Force put their lions into gear and went after it.

"What are we waiting for? Let's shoot it down!" Lance shouted.

"Wait a minute, Lance," Keith said. "We're not exactly sure if it's from Zarcon's fleet."

"But it is one of Zarcon's ship," Pidge commented. "It could be a trick!"

Keith was about to say something when he heard something start to crackle on the radio in the Black Lion.

"Mayday! Mayday!" a voice shouted, and more static followed. "Going . . . . . can't keep . . . . altitude . . . . help . . . . down!"

The static then took over the radio. Keith ran the Black Lion over to where the other ship was going down. The other lions followed. The Red Lion and the Green Lion managed to get underneath the ship, and it smacked right into them. Then they brought it down to the ground. The other three lions landed, and the pilots came out of them. The cockpit of the other ship opened, and a young man staggered out. He looked to be about twenty years old. He had brown hair held in a short ponytail, but it was starting to come loose from the rubberband that held it. His clothing was torn, and he had bruises and dirt all over him as well. He looked like he was ready to drop any second. He looked up at the Voltron Force and smiled.

"Hey," he said, breathlessly as he dropped to the ground on his knees. "Thanks for the help."

"You're welcome," Keith said. "But who are you?"

The young man was about to answer, when he saw Lance, who was taking off his helmet for a minute. The young man stopped and stared at him. Lance gave him an odd look.

"It's you," the young man said. "It's you! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy to see you!"

The young man jumped up, and threw his arms around Lance's neck. Lance was nearly knocked off his feet. He gave the young man a strange look, and glanced at the others.

"Yeah, okay," he said, unwinding the young man's arm. "I'm happy to see you too. But . . . . who are you, anyway?"

"You don't remember, do you?" the young man asked. He latched himself onto Lance again, and smiled. "It's been so long, Lance. I'm not surprised you forgot about me."

"Wait a minute here," Lance said, trying to break away from what he considered a crazy kid, but he wouldn't let go. "How do you know my name?"

"It's me, Lance," the young man said, pulling away for a moment, and then pulling Lance back into the hug he had him in. "John Allen."

Lance's eyes grew wide. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It had been at least seventeen years since Lance had seen a trace of his little brother, and suddenly, here he was, on Planet Arus, in one of Zarcon's ships. He suddenly pushed the young man away and backed off.

"Wait just one minute here," he said again. "How can I be sure you're telling me the truth?"

"What's going on?" Allura asked.

"Yeah, Lance, who is this guy?" Pidge asked.

"I'm John Allen," the young man said. "John Allen McClain. Lance's brother."

"Lance, you never told us you had a brother," Keith said.

"I . . . kind of didn't know it myself," Lance said. "I mean I did know I had a kid brother, but . . . . well, it's sort of a long story."

Things hit a lull just then. John Allen then practically jumped on Lance again, and held him in another hug.

"Forgive my forwardness, Lance," he said. "But it's just been so long, and I'd practically given up all hope of ever seeing you again."

Lance said nothing, and threw the others a look that plainly said "would you please do something about this kid?" Allura seemed to understand what Lance wanted, walked over to John Allen, and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You must be tired after your trip," she said. "Why don't you come with us to the castle?"

"Oh, I don't want you to go to any trouble," John Allen said, letting go of Lance. Lance shot Allura a grateful look.

"It's really no trouble at all," Allura said. "As a matter of fact, I insist you come back to the castle with us."

"Well, if you insist," John Allen said. He started following Allura to the Blue Lion, when he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"Are you all right?" Pidge asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," John Allen said. "Just a little tired and hungry. I haven't eaten for weeks. I've been one of Zarcon's slave for as long as I can remember."

"Here, let us help you," Allura said, as he and Keith helped John Allen to his feet.

"Hey, Lance, why don't you do something to help?" Pidge asked. "I mean, he's your brother and all . . . ."

"I don't know," Lance said, eyeing John Allen suspiciously. "It could be Haggar in disguise."

"Oh Lance, how can you say that about your own brother?" Allura asked.

Lance was about to say something when John Allen suddenly tried to jump on Lance's back, clasping his arms around his neck again.

"Come on, Lance, you can trust me," he said. "Remember the good old days when we used to play horsey?"

"Horsey?" Keith asked, trying hard not to laugh.

"Get off of me!" Lance shouted, unclasping John Allen's hands, causing him to fall to the ground. THUD!

"Hey, come on, Lance!" Hunk shouted. "How 'bout giving the kid some horsey for old times sake? After all, he _is_ your brother."

"That has yet to be proven," Lance said, glaring at John Allen. "And besides which, I can't give him horsey rides anymore."

"It will help get him to one of the lions," Allura said. "He's too weak to walk himself, Lance."

"Yeah, come on, Lance," John Allen said. "Why won't you?"

"Because you're too heavy!" Lance shouted, right in John Allen's face.

"But Lance . . . ." Pidge started.

"Let's just get back to the castle, okay?!" Lance asked, and he headed for the Red Lion.

Keith and Allura helped John Allen up, and led him to the Blue Lion. Once he and Allura were inside, Hunk, Pidge, and Keith went back to their lions, and headed back to the castle.


	3. Suspicion

Once everyone returned to the castle, Allura introduced herself and the others to John Allen, and then they introduced him to Coran and Nanny.

"He's Lance's younger brother," Allura said.

"Just what I need," Nanny grumbled, shooting Lance a dirty look. "Two of them around here."

"You're not exactly Miss Merry Sunshine yourself, you know," Lance said, glaring at Nanny.

"Yeah, _that's_ for sure!" Pidge shouted.

"Why you little . . . ." Nanny started, and she almost made a lunge at Pidge, until Keith stepped into the picture.

"John Allen crash landed on Arus in one of Zarcon's ships," he explained before things could get any further.

"Yeah, and I'm exhausted and starving," John Allen said.

"I'm sure Nanny will be glad to fix you something," Allura said.

The group went to the dining room and sat down while Nanny went to the kitchen to rummage for the leftovers from breakfast. She returned a few minutes later, and set a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of John Allen. John Allen thanked her, and promptly began digging in, much like Hunk normally would have done. The others looked on surprised.

"Boy, you act like you haven't seen food in weeks!" Pidge commented.

"I haven't," John Allen replied, once he swallowed. "Zarcon doens't feed his slaves too well. You think I could have some more?"

"He actually wants seconds of Nanny's cooking?" Pidge asked. "I'm shocked."

Nanny gave Pidge a Look, and went back to the kitchen. She returned with more food, and John Allen just wolfed it down. Allura was glad to see he had a healthy appetite. When he had crashed, John Allen looked like nothing but skin and bones.

"Better keep it coming," Hunk said. "He could use some meat on those bones of his!"

"I must admit, I agree," Nanny said.

"Really, you guys don't have to go through any trouble," John Allen said. "I can wait until lunch. And if it's anything like breakfast, I'm sure it will be delicious. Seriously, that's the best meal I've had in a long time."

"I'm glad to see _some_one knows good cooking when he tastes it!" Nanny shouted, giving Pidge another dirty look.

"Statistically, someone has to," Pidge mumbled.

"Come with me, John Allen," Allura said. "I'll show you to your room so you can rest."

"Thanks a lot, Princess," John Allen said, as he stood up. Then he turned to Lance. "Maybe a little later you and I can get together and talk, Lance. We've got so much to catch up on."

Lance said nothing, and eyed John Allen suspiciously. John Allen just smiled at him, and left to follow Allura to where he was going to be staying. Once he was gone, Lance groaned, and shook his head.

"Unbelievable," he said. "Just unbelievable."

"What's the matter?" Keith asked.

Lance just shook his head and walked off. He decided to go to the lounge to relax, when he saw Allura in his room, going through his closet.

"Is there a reason you're digging through my closet?" he asked.

"I'm looking for some clothes for your brother," Allura said, holding up a turquoise colored jacket. "That is if you don't mind, Lance. I know I should have asked first, but I was just passing by your room when I thought of it. You two are about the same size, which is why I'm going through your closet. He's just thinner than you."

"You know, how can we be so sure John Allen is who he says he is?"

"Lance, I think you would know your own brother."

"I haven't seen the kid since he was three years old. That alone is a long story, and I'd rather not talk about it. I'm just trying to be a little careful here. You never know when Zarcon is going to come and attack, you know."

With that, Lance left. Nobody saw much of him until lunch that day. Everyone gatherd in the dining room, except for John Allen. He was still in his room.

"Hey, Lance, isn't John Allen coming?" Pidge asked.

"What do I look like?" Lance asked. "My brother's keeper?! I don't even think he's really my brother. You know he could be one of Zarcon's men, or one of Haggar's monsters."

"Oh really, Lance!" Allura shouted. "That's ridiculous! You saw how he was acting towards you when he saw you."

"I still think it's suspicious," Lance said. "I mean, don't forget all the other times."

"What other times?" Pidge asked.

"Well there was the time that girl Twyla crash landed on Arus, much like John Allen, and she turned out to be a spy for Zarcon," Lance said.

"But she was forced to do that against her will," Hunk commented.

"And the time when Haggar disguised herself as the Princess's aunt," Lance said.

"Oh, well, that . . . ." Pidge started.

"And that time that so-called Prince Bokar showed up, and he turned out to be working for Zarcon," Lance interuppted.

"Well . . . . yeah," Keith said. "But . . . ."

"And the time where . . . ." Lance started.

"Okay, Lance, we get the point already!" Hunk shouted, just to get Lance to shut up.

"But there's something about John Allen that makes me believe he really _is_ your brother," Keith said.

"Oh yeah?" Lance asked. "What's that?"

"He knows your name."

Lance glared at Keith, and shut up. Keith had a point, but he still didn't buy the fact that this kid who just crash landed on Arus was his brother. It was that moment John Allen walked into the dining room, wearing the clothes that Allura had picked out for him from Lance's closet, which consisted of a blue-green shirt under a turquoise jacket, and blue jeans. John Allen had his own boots already. However, the jeans were rolled up at the cuffs, as were the sleeves of the jacket.

"Hi," he said.

"Nice outfit," Lance said, sarcastically.

"Thanks," John Allen said. "The princess said she took these out of your closet. They're a little long on me, but that's okay. Isn't it?"

"Eh," Lance grumbled. The others just rolled their eyes.

Nanny came in a few minutes later with lunch, and John Allen dove right in, along with Hunk.

"Boy, with these two around, we might lose a couple of fingers trying to get something to eat!" Pidge shouted.

The others laughed, except Lance. He kept eyeing John Allen suspiciously. He was trying to remember if his little brother had any distinguishing markings. He couldn't see any. He wished he could remember if John Allen had any birthmarks or scars, but nothing came to mind. And besides, John Allen did have scars, but they were probably from being Zarcon's slave. But it was driving him absolutely crazy.

"So why don't you tell us how you ended up on Arus," Allura said.

"Yeah in one of Zarcon's ships no less," Lance said. Allura shot him a stern look.

"Well," John Allen said. "I was one of Zarcon's slaves. I've been a slave of his for as long as I can remember. It was brutal, I can tell ya that much! In any case, I heard some of the other slaves talk about Voltron and the Voltron Force on Planet Arus, so I decided to try and make an escape to find the Voltron Force. I thought maybe they could help us. So I stole one of their ships and took off. They spotted me and tried to shoot me down, and they hit the back of the plane, and it caused the fuel tank to leak. I ran out of fuel just as I reached Arus, and then you guys came along."

"Sounds kinda fishy to me," Lance said.

"Oh, Lance, really!" Allura shouted. "Sometimes I think you can be a little too suspicious."

"Hey, I just don't like to take chances," Lance replied.

"This from the guy who pulls off all the daredevil moves in the Red Lion," Hunk said. Lance glared at him, but said nothing.

After lunch, Lance went to the lounge to think. Keith walked in a few minutes later and sat down next to him.

"You know, Lance," he said. "I can understand why you think Zarcon might have sent John Allen to get our guard down or something along those lines. But I still think you're being ridiculous. How else would he know your name, and how would he know that you used to play horsey with him? Though I still find it kind of funny at the image of you playing horsey."

"Don't ever say that word to me again, Keith."

"Well, does anyone else know about you and your brother playing horsey?"

"Just me and him. But let's just say that Zarcon really did capture my three-year-old brother seventeen years ago. From what I remember, my brother couldn't keep his trap shut. You could not tell a secret to him. The entire population would know it by sun down. Now, little Johnny Blabbermouth could have told someone on Planet Doom about his big brother Lance, and the whole horsey thing, and Zarcon and Haggar might have overheard him."

"How would he know who you were then?"

"Maybe Zarcon and Haggar have done their research on us. One thing's for sure, Keith. If we let our guard down around John Allen, we could be in for trouble from Zarcon and Haggar."

Lance couldn't have been more right. For at that very moment, Zarcon was in a conference with Haggar, about none other than John Allen and his escape.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Haggar," Zarcon said. "You know I dislike it when slaves escape."

"My plan is sure to work, Zarcon," Haggar said, as she stroked her blue cat. "We let that slave escape, and he will lead us to the Voltron Force. He went down on Planet Arus, after all. All we have to do is wait until the time is right, and then, we attack. Planet Arus will be yours in a matter of minutes, and everyone will be slaves, including the Voltron Force."


	4. J Scar

Back at the Castle of Lions, John Allen was in the lounge, looking at a book. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge were watching him. Hunk and Pidge still thought Lance was insane for his suspicions, but they went along with this anyway.

"I still don't understand what you wanted the mice for," Pidge said.

"You remember when Haggar disguised herself as the princess's aunt," Lance said.

"Yeah, she couldn't stand the mice," Hunk said. "I see what you're getting at, Lance. If John Allen reacts to the mice, then we'll know if he's working for Zarcon. Although I still think you're blowing this out of proportion. John Allen's a good kid."

"Looks can be decieving, you know," Lance argued.

Pidge sighed, and let the mice run into the lounge in front of John Allen. He didn't notice at first, until one of them climbed up his leg. John Allen looked down at saw the mice. He jumped for a moment and threw his book aside for a moment, out of surprise. Lance smiled knowingly. He figured that this proved that John Allen was really the witch Haggar in disguise. But instead of recoiling, John Allen picked up the mouse and scratched his head. The other mice ran to him, and John Allen let them come over. Lance couldn't believe it.

"Looks like you were wrong, Lance," Pidge said.

"I'm still not convinced," Lance said.

Pidge and Hunk glanced at each other and groaned. Sometimes Lance's stubborness drove them crazy. Before anything else could happen, an alarm went off. Everyone ran into the control room, where Coran was watching the screen.

"A fleet of Zarcon's ships are coming in," he said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Lance said.

"What's going on in here?" John Allen asked, walking into the room. "I heard an alarm go off."

"Zarcon's fleet is attacking," Allura said.

"We'd better get to the lions," Keith said. "Come on, team!"

"What'd you do, call in reinforcements?" Lance asked John Allen.

"I had nothing to do with this," John Allen said.

"Yeah, Lance, you know Zarcon's been trying to take over the galaxy, and he's always trying to destroy Arus," Pidge said. "One thing has nothing to do with the other."

"Come on, Lance," John Allen said. "I swear I didn't . . . ."

"Forget it, we're wasting time," Lance said. "We've gotta get to the lions!"

The Voltron Force ran to the elevators, and slid down to the lions. Well, almost all of them. John Allen was determined to talk to Lance about this, no matter what.

"Lance, seriously, we need to talk about this!" he shouted.

"Not now!" Lance shouted. "And not ever!"

Lance was about to jump down, when John Allen grabbed him around the waist, and both of them ended up sliding down to the shuttle that was going to take them to the Red Lion.

"Will you stop that?!" Lance shouted. "Let go!"

"Lance, please!" John Allen yelled, as the two of the landed in the shuttle. "We've got to talk about this whole thing!"

Lance didn't answer, and he didn't have a choice but to take John Allen with him to the Red Lion to fight off Zarcon's men. Once all the pilots were in the lions, they took off. Lance kept his eyes on the target, but directed his words to John Allen.

"Just try not to get in the way," he said. "Stand there and don't do or touch anything!"

"Then can we talk?" John Allen asked, hopefully.

"Not a chance! Once we get done here, I'm taking you back to Planet Doom, where you belong, with Zarcon and Haggar and the rest of them."

"Lance, if you just give me a chance to explain this to you . . . . ."

"Will you shut up, already?! I'm trying to concentrate!"

John Allen stood back. Clearly, now was not a good time to try to talk some sense into Lance. But he had to talk to him before Lance had a chance to send him back to Doom. He just had to convince Lance that he really _was_ his brother.

In anycase, the Voltron Force began firing at Zarcon's air ships, which turned out to be just easy pickings.

"Brother, we came all the way out here for this?!" Lance shouted. "This is too easy!"

"Could be a trick," Hunk said. "What was all that you said about not taking chances, Lance?"

Before anything else could happen, something large began crashing onto the scene. It was another one of Haggar's Robeasts, probably the biggest one the force had ever seen before.

"What in the world is that?!" John Allen shouted.

"A Robeast, as if you didn't know," Lance said. "Hey, Keith, what's say we cut this sucker down to size?"

"Activate laser blasters!" Keith shouted. A laser beam shot out of the Black Lion and hit the Robeast right in the eyes.

Hunk and Pidge fired lasers from their lions' tails at the Robeast. It was stunned for a moment, but then reached up and tried to grab at the lions.

"Fire flame throwers!" Lance shouted, and a gigantic flame shot the Robeast in the chest. The Robeast let out a shriek and began to step back.

"Cool," John Allen said. Unfortunately, the Robeast started coming back.

The Lions attacked, and the Robeast began swatting at them. He managed to knock all of them to the ground, but the Lions weren't about to give up. Lance began to maneuver the Red Lion for a head on attack when the Robeast reached up and caught it in a giant claw. The other lions began to attack, but the Robeast swatted them away as if they were flies. The remaining four lions began spinning out of the control.

"Going down!" Pidge shouted.

"Yaaaaahhhh!" Hunk shouted, trying to maintain altitude. "How do ya stop this merry go round?!"

Once the four lions crashed to the ground, the Robeast left for Planet Doom, taking the Red Lion with it. Lance was doing everything he could to try break loose, but the controls were jammed.

"Come on," he groaned as he started pushing buttons and pulling levers. "I gotta get out of this . . . . come on, come on, come on!"

"Can I try something?" John Allen asked. "I may not be a very good pilot, but I am pretty mechanical and . . . ."

"I don't need help from you! You probably planned this whole thing!"

"I didn't! I swear I didn't! Look, Lance, if you'll just let me . . . ."

John Allen reached for the controls, but Lance grabbed his wrist and glared at him.

"If you touch even one of these controls, I swear I'm going to kill you," he said.

"Lance, you wouldn't kill your own brother, would you?" John Allen asked. "Please, Lance, let me try something."

"No!"

Lance then practically threw John Allen to the side. There was so much force with the thrust, John Allen stumbled backwards, and smacked right into the wall, banging the back of his head.

"Ow!" he shouted, sliding to the floor. He held the back of his head in his hands, and began moaning in pain. He wanted to let out a cry of pain, but he held back.

Lance stopped for a moment and stared. A flashback was coming back to him. Something similar to this happened back a long time ago, when Lance was seven and John Allen was two. Lance was playing with a couple of race cars, and John Allen was trying to get in on the game. Lance wouldn't let him. He knew John Allen would just wreck the car. Every time John Allen got a hold of Lance's toys, John Allen would break them. He didn't mean to. He didn't understand what he was doing. That day, Lance kept pushing his little brother aside, trying to get him to go away and play with his own toys. But John Allen kept trying to grab one of Lance's toy cars. He wanted to do everything Lance did, and that included with playing with the same toys as his big brother. Lance had finally had enough of his baby brother, and shoved John Allen as hard as he could. John Allen ended up hitting his head against the wall pretty hard (and it ended up making a dent in the wall). John Allen let out a shriek and ran from the room and into the kitchen. Lance's mother came in a few minutes later and gave Lance a chewing out, and a lecture on how he should be nice to his little brother.

Lance came out of his flashback just as the Robeast returned to Planet Doom. It dropped the Red Lion on the floor of the castle, and Lance and John Allen stepped out, and Zarcon's guards surrounded them, and started to take them to the throne room to Zarcon. John Allen, out of sheer nervousness, pulled Lance close to him, and flung his arms around his neck.

"I'm scared, Lance," he said. "I don't know if I can face Zarcon."

"Would you get off of me?" Lance shouted, throwing his brother's arms off him. By that time, they were in the throne room. One of the guards approached Zarcon.

"We have captured the Red Lion and it's pilot, your highness," the guard said.

"The Red Lion?" Zarcon asked. "You captured the _Red_ Lion?! Haggar! This is your doing! Your Robeast was supposed to capture the _Blue_ Lion and Princess Allura!"

"I wasn't aware the Robeast was color blind until now," Haggar said. "But this may work out to our advantage. You know they can't form Voltron without all five lions, and one of the lions is here."

John Allen gulped, and tried to hide behind Lance. Lance glared at him. He felt like smacking him upside the head. Haggar cackled wickedly.

"You have done well, my boy," she said to John Allen. "Now come out from behind that Space Explorer and take your glory like a good boy."

"I . . . . I don't understand," John Allen said.

"I think I do," Lance said, turning towards his brother.

"Oh come now, don't be modest," Haggar said, stroking her cat. "We sent you to Planet Arus to let the Voltron Force's guard down. That's why we made it look like he escaped. Of course, you were supposed to bring us the Princess and the Blue Lion, but we can overlook that. You'll be greatly rewarded for your service."

"I knew it!" Lance shouted. "I knew it! I just knew you were working for Zarcon!"

"No, Lance, you've got it all wrong!" John Allen shouted. "I-I-I didn't! I wouldn't! You've got to believe me, Lance! You've just got to believe me!"

"I ought to tear you apart limb from limb!" Lance shouted. "Just wait until I get my hands on you, you little . . . ."

"Take the Space Explorer to the dungeon," Zarcon said. "And keep a watch for the other Lions. They'll be coming soon, I'm sure of it."

The guards then started to lead Lance out of the throne room. Lance wanted to throttle John Allen. He was ready to kill him. John Allen just had to find a way to convince Lance he had nothing to do with this.

"And now, my young friend," Zarcon said. "For your reward for helping us in our attempt to take over Planet Arus. You'll get twenty lashes instead of thirty! I will not tolerate escapees!"

The guards then took John Allen out of the room, and to the slave area, and gave him twenty lashes. John Allen didn't think that was much of a reward, but then again, this was Zarcon we're talking about here. After the whipping, John Allen was taken back to the slave area. But he was already hatching a plan. He was going to get help if it killed him, which it probably would have.

That night, he snuck to the launching area, where he knew Zarcon was keeping the Red Lion.

"I just have to figure out how to fly it," he said. "Then I can fly the Red Lion back to Arus, and then get help from Keith and the others."

John Allen was about to climb into the lion, when an alarm went off. There was no time to hide, and Zarcon's guards caught him in the act. They brought him to the throne room.

"First you try to escape, and then you try to steal the lion," Zarcon said. "You're very persistent, but you are a fool."

"I'm not going to let you take over Planet Arus," John Allen said. "And I seriously won't let you hurt my big brother! He may be in your dungeon now, but just wait until he gets out! You're gonna be sorry!"

"That Space Explorer is your brother," Haggar said. "I think we should give him a little family reunion. What do you think, Pussycat?"

The cat hissed and growled. John Allen gulped and was taken to the dungeon by the guards.

Lance was leaning against the wall, trying to think of a way to escape so he could get back to his lion and get back to Arus before Zarcon could attack with that Robeast again. He heard the door open, and the guards flung John Allen inside. He tripped, and fell to the ground, skidding about halfway into the dungeon. Then the door slammed shut. He looked up and saw Lance standing over him, glaring.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," he said. "Actually, I'm glad to see you here."

"You are?" John Allen said, as Lance pulled him to his feet.

"Yeah," Lance said. Once John Allen to his feet, he punched him right in the face. "Now I can tear you limb from limb!"

"Lance, wait a minute, please!" John Allen shouted, just as Lance grabbed him by the shoulders, and threw him into the wall.

"I knew I didn't trust you!" he shouted as he slammed John Allen into the wall again. "I tried to tell the others! They wouldn't listen! The princess trusted you, and you tried to betray her!"

"No, Lance, I didn't! I really didn't!" John Allen shouted. Lance just gave him a sock in the stomach. "Please, Lance, please, please! Let me explain! Please, I have to prove to you that I really am your brother! I wouldn't make up something like that! I really wouldn't!"

"Why should I believe you?"

"I can help you escape. I know where they hid the Red Lion. I'll take you to it, just please believe me. I can tell you everything. I can prove to you that I really am your brother."

Lance sighed. He figured John Allen was going to lead him into a trap, but he just had to get to the Red Lion.

"Okay," Lance said. "But you talk while you walk. How do we get out of here?"

"Blow the door off with your gun," John Allen said. "And don't worry, they won't pay any attention. Someone tried this about two years ago, and they managed to escape without getting caught. We've just gotta be careful when we leave."

Lance sighed, and fired his gun at the door. It was blasted off it's hinges. Lance peered out, and looked around. Then he and John Allen walked out the door, and John Allen took the lead.

"Follow me," he said.

"Like I've got a choice?" Lance mumbled.

John Allen looked around as he walked. Lance followed.

"Okay, if you're gonna talk, talk now," he said, finally. "But don't think you can change my mind, and if you do happen to change my mind, which I doubt, don't expect me to take you with me!"

"It's going to be hard," John Allen said. "No matter what I say, you're not going to believe me. Maybe if I tell you what happened that day we last saw each other. You were eight, and I was three. We were in the yard and you were climbing up that big tree. I wanted to climb up too, but you said I was too little. I tried to climb up, and you ended up coming down and suggested we do something else. I asked if we could play horsey, and you did. Then you saw the ships in the sky and they started shooting things, blowing things up, and taking people to be their slaves. You and I ran to the house, but I went back outside to tell them to stop. Then there was the explosion. Just as that missile exploded, I was picked up by the slave ship. I managed to get to a window and I tried to call you, because I saw that you were looking for me, and I heard you calling my name. But you obviously didn't hear me."

Lance didn't say anything. He just continued following John Allen down the hallways. John Allen could tell he wasn't buying this, but he knew he had to try again.

"How close are we to the Red Lion?" Lance asked.

"Pretty close," John Allen said. "Listen, what can I do to get you to believe me?"

"I can only think of one thing," Lance said. "If you really were my brother, you would know more than just the day Zarcon destroyed the family farm. Let me see . . . . I've got it! I've got it. Three weeks before Zarcon destroyed everything. You were walking on the fence, like I was doing, but you fell off and hit your head on a piece of plywood, on the corner of that board. You cut your forehead, and the stitch ended up as a shape of a letter J."

Lance turned to John Allen and looked at him closely.

"And there is no scar," he said. "I knew it. I knew you were an impostor!"

"Well, you'd be able to see it if I hadn't grown my hair long," John Allen said, sweeping his bangs to the side. Lance took a good look and saw the J shaped scar on John Allen's forehead.

"That could be drawn on," he said. He ran his finger along the J on John Allen's forehead and realized it was definitely a real scar. Lance stood up straight and just stared.

"Ummm," John Allen said, pointing past Lance. "There's . . . . . your Red Lion."

Lance turned around and went to the Red Lion. Right before he climbed in, he turned to John Allen.

"Well, are you just gonna stand there, or are you coming with me?" he asked. "Come on, Half Pint, I don't have all day!"

John Allen smiled. "Half Pint" was one of the names Lance always called John Allen when they were younger. He was glad that Lance believed him. He ran to the Red Lion and climbed in.

"Let's head back to Arus," Lance said.


	5. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

Lance started up the Red Lion, and took off. Just his luck, Haggar saw it go. She wasn't worried, though. She'd just send that Robeast after him, and it could probably crush the Red Lion, and even the other Lions. As Lance and John Allen were returning to Arus, something in the Red Lion began to beep.

"Uh oh," Lance said. "We've got company. Looks like that same Robeast of Haggar's that brought us to Doom. Not to mention the fleet's come in."

"Think you can outfly them?" John Allen asked.

"Do fish swim? Just sit tight, hold on, and whatever you do, don't panic."

"Why would I panic?"

Lance put the Red Lion into one major nose dive. John Allen fell forward, and grabbed onto the back of the seat, holding on for dear life, and screaming. As Zarcon's fleet began firing, Lance started zig zagging. John Allen continued screaming. He began digging his fingers into the back of the seat. Lance then decided to try something different. He drove the Red Lion flew upwards in between two of Zarcon's ships. The two ships then crashed into each other.

"Hey, that worked pretty good," Lance said. "Hang on!"

"Like I've got a choice?" John Allen mumbled.

Lance ran the lion into the air and actually landed on top of one of Zarcon's ship.

"Come and get me!" he taunted.

Zarcon's ship fired at the Red Lion. The lion jumped just as the missle hit the other ship. Lance did some more daredevil moves, causing Zarcon's ships to either smash into each other or blew each other up.

"How was that for a wild ride?" Lance asked.

"I think I'm gonna be sick," John Allen groaned.

"Hang on, little bro. We're heading back to Arus!"

Lance revved up his Red Lion, and took off like a shot. John Allen braced himself and moaned. He squeezed his eyes shut and held on as tight as he could. Lance put the Red Lion into the fastest gear he could, and took off as fast as he possibly could. It wasn't too far to Planet Arus. Upon reentry, however, John Allen dared to look.

"Hey, something's coming," he said. "You'd better slow down, or we might hit it."

"Nah, it's probably just a bird or somethin'," Lance said.

"Lance, it looks too big to be a bird. Would you please slow down or something?"

Lance was about to say something more, when he crashed head on with whatever was coming up. It turned out to be Hunk in the Yellow Lion, and the two fell from the sky and crashed to the ground.

"Hey, you Sunday flyer!" Hunk shouted.

"Sorry," Lance said. "We were trying to get away from Zarcon."

"Who's we?"

"Me and John Allen. I couldn't leave my baby brother there."

"Since when do you believe he's your brother?"

"It's kind of a long story, Hunk," John Allen said.

Lance and John Allen climbed out of the Red Lion, and Hunk climbed out of the Yellow Lion. Pretty soon, the Black, Blue, and Green lions arrived on the scene and Keith, Allura, and Pidge climbed out.

"Boy, Lance, are we glad to see you!" Pidge shouted.

"We were worried," Allura said.

"There's no need for worry, Princess," Lance said. "I came outta there just fine. No problems at all."

"Hey!" John Allen shouted. "Don't hog all the credit! I helped!"

"Okay, okay," Lance said. "So my brother helped. A little."

"A little?" John Allen asked, giving Lance a punch in the arm. "A little?! You never would've escaped if I hadn't told you where the lion was!"

"All right, all right," Lance said, grabbing John Allen in a headlock, and began to grind his knuckles against the top of his head. "So you helped a lot, you knucklehead!"

"Ow! Come on, Lance, stop it!" John Allen said. "Knock it off!"

"Boy, I've missed beating up on my kid brother!" Lance laughed.

Pidge stifled his laughter. He had a brother and a sister, so he knew that all Lance was doing was known as just friendly "brotherly love." The others were trying to stifle their laughter as well. They figured it was not above Lance to give someone a noogie. But the feeling didn't last long however. Zarcon's ships were coming in, and so was that giant Robeast.

"Everyone get to the Lions!" Keith shouted.

"Oh no, not again!" John Allen groaned. "I don't think I can take another ride in those Lions, Lance!"

"Just wait'll we form Voltron," Lance said.

"I swear, Lance, if you make me go in there and fly with you again, I'm gonna be sick."

"Enough said. I don't want to spend all night cleaning up the Red Lion after you've hurled in it. Okay, here's an idea. Duck behind that rock over there and stay out of sight, okay?"

John Allen nodded, and ran for the rock. Lance jumped into the Red Lion, while the others jumped into the other lions.

"Position keys!" Keith shouted.

"Keys set!" the others shouted.

The force then activated their lions, and charged.

"Good luck!" John Allen called to them, but he knew they probably couldn't hear him.

The Force was off and running. The Robeast merely stifled a yawn, and smacked away at the lions as if it were swatting flies, much like it was doing before. The Force was throwing every single attack they had at the Robeast, but it wasn't doing any good. It grabbed the Black Lion in one of it's giant claws, and flung it at the other four. The Black Lion began turning summer saults, and Keith couldn't bring his lion out of it. The other four Lions tried to get out of the way, but the Black Lion was coming too fast. It collided with the other Lions, like a bowling ball hitting every single bowling pin in the lane. All four Lions ended up laying in a heap on the ground.

"Strike!" Hunk shouted dazedly.

The Robeast began stomping towards the pile of Lions. It would take a few moments before the Force could recompose themselves and fight back, once they formed Voltron. But there wasn't time for that. The Robeast was going to smash them in a matter of nanoseconds. John Allen knew he had to do something. He picked up a small rock about the size of a baseball and threw it at the Robeast as hard as he possibly could. It sailed through the air and hit the Robeast in the leg. It didn't do much damage, but the Robeast _did_ turn around to see what was going on.

"Hey tall, dark, and gruesome!" John Allen shouted. "Betcha can't catch me!"

John Allen ducked behind a large boulder as the Robeast began slamming his claws down, trying to squash John Allen like a roach. The Voltron Force managed to come to their senses, and untangle themselves, and then they just sat there, watching the Robeast.

"What the heck is it doing?" Hunk asked.

"Looks like it's trying to squash a bug or something," Lance said.

Keith maneuvered the Black Lion to get close enough to see what the Robeast was smashing at, and far enough away to avoid getting hurled like a bowling ball again.

"Lance!" he shouted. "That's your brother down there!"

"What?!" Lance shouted, moving his lion next to Keith's. "You're right. What in the world is that crazy kid doing? John Allen! Stop! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Unfortunately, John Allen didn't hear his brother. He had the Robeast on the run, Lance had to give him credit for that. He and the other Lions just sat back for awhile. If John Allen tired the Robeast out, then they could destroy it, without having to form Voltron. That would be an interesting feat. Unfortunately, Lady Luck was not on John Allen's side. The Robeast grew tired of this game, and it picked up a large boulder. It held the boulder in the air, and squeezed it in his claws. The boulder cracked, and broke into several large pieces, all falling around John Allen. He could barely dodge them in time without getting hit. At last, he tripped, and fell flat on his stomach. He saw more rocks coming down on him, and flattened out as best as he could, as the rocks surrounded him, and the Voltron Force lost sight of him.

"Holy cow!" Lance shouted.

"Keith, I think it's time for Voltron," Allura said.

"Right," Keith said, and he re-positioned the key in the Black Lion. "Ready to form Voltron! Activate interlocks! Dyna-therms connected. Infra-cells up; mega-thrusters are go!"

"Let's go, Voltron Force!" the Voltron Force shouted in unison, and the Lions flew up into the sky, and started transforming.

"Form feet and legs!" Keith shouted. The Blue and Yellow Lions attached themselves to the back legs of the Black Lion.

"Form arms and body!" Keith shouted again. The Red and Green Lions attached themselves to the sides of the Black Lion.

"And I'll form the head!" Keith shouted, as Voltron's head came into view.

The Robeast didn't know what to make of this. It just stared at Voltron, and tried to grab him with it's claw. Voltron dodged it.

"Form blazing sword!" Keith shouted.

Voltron's "hands" came together, and a large sword formed. Then he made a flying leap and brought the sword down right into the Robeast. He did it a second time from the other side, and the Robeast split. Then it exploded into oblivion. The lions detached themselves, and Lance landed the Red Lion almost immediately. He jumped out of it, and ran over to the pile of rocks. The others followed, and all five of the Voltron Force began to push them away. Finally, John Allen climbed out from the mess.

"Now that's what I call rock and roll!" he shouted, somewhat dazedly.

"You said it, brother," Lance replied. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," John Allen said, nodding.

"Just to be on the safe side, we'd better get you back to the castle," Allura replied.

"Sounds good to me," Lance said. Then he got down on his hands and knees. "Hop on, Squirt. How about a little horsey for old times sake?"

John Allen laughed, and climbed onto Lance's back. The others stared at him as if he were completely crazy.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Lance," Hunk said. "But didn't you say he was too heavy for this?"

"He ain't heavy," Lance said. "He's my brother!"

The End


End file.
